Is Call of Duty Really Dead?

I watched an interesting video the other day. It stated that Call of Duty was a dead franchise. In the video, they mention that people are tired of COD’s rinse and repeat tactics. That Activision admitted they were disappointed with the latest release. And they brought up that the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare reveal video is the second most disliked video in YouTube history. The most disliked video is Baby, by Justin Bieber – if you were wondering. Though the guy behind the video finished on the fact that Activision and Sledgehammer games are planning on bringing the next COD title “back to its roots”. So it’s not all doom and gloom, in his eyes.

But is the Call of Duty franchise truly dead? No. But its PR isn’t in great shape.

Infinite Warfare wasn’t great, but it still sold

Infinite Warfare was not a great instillation to the series. Activision and Infinity Ward tried something different – it didn’t really pay off. The setting didn’t resonate with many gamers, and there was a backlash. But Infinite Warfare was just doomed to fail. Not because it was a bad game, but because it resembles what some vocal fans have come to dislike from the franchise.

Despite all of that, though, it was still one of the best selling games of 2016. For retail sales in the UK, it actually beat Battlefield 1 to claim the number two spot. FIFA 17 managed to top the list – no surprise there. Some might say that the shipping of Call of Duty 4 with Infinite Warfare helped. It may well have done. But that still doesn’t change the fact that Infinite Warfare still sold, despite the setbacks.

To me, that’s the sign of a resilient franchise. If a game can get that much negative press, and criticism from the community, and still be the second best selling game for 2016. Well that’s a recipe for success right there. I mean, I wouldn’t mind that kind of failure. So perhaps it says more about the fans than it does Activision and Infinity Ward? Who knows.

Call of Duty is far from dead

Sure, the franchise isn’t in its best shape. But it’s far from dead. Call of Duty isn’t going anywhere – not for a while, at least. It’ll take a lot more to sink this ship.

Personally, I don’t really care. Keep making games, stop making games – I’m indifferent to it. I’ve switched off to the CoD series since discovering Battlefield, through both Bad Company games and then with Battlefield 3. The last Call of Duty title that I truly enjoyed was World at War, and that was released almost a decade ago. So if the series finds its mojo again, then great. If not, no loss. I think it’ll have plenty of opportunity to get back on track, though. Infinite Warfare will not be the last Call of Duty game – hopefully the franchise can build back up from there.

But what do you think? Were you disappointed with Infinite Warfare? Do you hope that the franchise can get back on trap. Do you even care? Let me know in the comments below!